Arthur Administration - Domestic Issues
Domestic Issues
The political climate of the United States in the 1880s was somewhat sluggish. One historian remarked that "the great questions of the Civil War had been settled, but the problems of postwar expansion were not yet in sharp outline" (Graff, pp. 273–74). Many of the achievements in the field of domestic issues during the Arthur administration were modest and custodial: they include measures like adopting standard time, building a repository for the Library of Congress, and establishing a constitutional amendment dealing with presidential succession. Possibly the most important for the future of the country was civil service reform.
Civil Service Reform
In the years prior to the Arthur administration, more and more Americans called for an end to the political spoils system. It is ironic that Arthur, a lifelong participant in party...
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